Dear Auroville Projects, we have compiled a suggested timeline for your 2025 Matching Campaign preparation. This is not fixed or rigid, different aspects will apply to different projects. Please send us additional tips & ideas if you have them.
January – June 2025
Gather donor and supporter contacts, organize and plan communication strategies.
- Organize your donor spreadsheet
- Develop contact acquisition strategies
- Sort out email sign-ups, QR codes, social media and website contact buttons and fields
- Get and verify Phone/WhatsApp numbers for contacts
- Mailing address for contacts
- Install the AVI USA donor portal correctly on your website if you haven’t done so
- Preparing promotional material about you project – either a short video clip, a beautiful web page with the year in review or important highlights about your project and it’s accomplishments, or even a slide show of beautiful and inspiring moments from the projects work with a few paragraphs, to send out later in the year.
General Contacts & Donors
- begin monthly or every other month communications about your project
Special Donors and Contacts
- establish personal contact with these special interest supporters through either email, text, WhatsApp or phone.
- maintain a connection and learn more about them, what their interests are, and what interests them and inspires them about your project.
July-October 2025
Establishing strong and regular connections with your contacts, use the 1-2 strategy of sending beautiful, inspiring updates and then connect personally with those who are interested or close to you to discuss the email and highlights you sent.
Or connect personally with supporters and tell them to expect the email, and give them a quick preview.
Develop strong content to tell the story of your project before the Matching Campaign: film clip, photos, slideshow, financials, get the story of the project highlights in shape before November
Networking through LinkedIn, Social Media, and any special friends and group networks.
Build a fundraising network of individual supporters (ambassadors) who can reach out to their friends on behalf of your project.
- maintain contact with your fundraising ambassadors and inspire them to support your project
- inspire your fundraising networks with positive messages about your work
Become comfortable and experiment with our Peer-To-Peer campaigns.
AVI USA will put together a more comprehensive Peer To Peer Demo in the next couple of months. Call your most engaged supporters and ask if they will create their own fundraising page to raise funds for your project
Finalize your AVI USA donation portal content for the Matching Campaign by the end of October.
November 15 is the final deadline for existing project Donation Portal Updates.
November 30 is the final deadline for new initiatives approved in October or first three weeks of November.
This year we will not accept updates for the donor portals for existing projects during the Matching Campaign, only projects approved in late November or during the Matching Campaign can submit portal content information.
Continue sending monthly or every other month general emails
July/August – send out regular mail to your supporters and contacts with a tangible souvenir of your project, such as a postcard.
November 2024
Schedule two very clear emails letting your supporters know that their donations will be doubled in December.
Explain clearly what you will do with their donations:
- What will change because they donated?
- Who will benefit and how?
Engage your supporters as donors with peer to peer fundraising –
Peer to peer fundraising –
Call your most engaged supporters and ask if they will create their own fundraising page to raise funds for your project
AVI USA will put together a more comprehensive Peer To Peer Demo in the next couple of months.
December 2024
December 1, 15, and 30 – send a very specific and enthusiastic message to all your supporters that explains the following:
their donation will be matched
- The impact of their donation – specifically what you will be able to accomplish with the funds.
- send clear links to your project’s donate page (do not use the AVI USA general donation page, or AVIUSA general website)
- place the ask and donation link are at the top of the email so they see it right when they open in
December 3, 18, and 30 – send a whatsapp message to all supporters on whatsapp (also telegram, signal, etc if you use them) to remind them about the 2025 Matching Funds campaign and include your project’s donation portal link.
December 10 – call all donors with a phone number who have not yet donated – if they don’t answer, leave a voice message.
When you call say that you are calling to let them know about an exciting opportunity to have their donations matched by AVIUSA.
Throughout December – when you see a donation is made, contact that supporter and thank them personally. AVI USA will be on call to provide you with donor information in real time.
Additional Considerations
Don’t stop at $2500!
The projects that raised the most funds in December 2024 did not stop raising funds when they reached $2500. They kept up the messaging through all of December, using the matching campaign as a reason to contact their donors and encourage donations. Even if a donation is not matched, it’s still a donation that will help you fulfill your mission in 2026.
Repeating your message is the name of the game
Everyone’s lives are busy. People may care about your project, but not have the space to get more information. Repeat your positive messages, before and during the matching campaign, and make sure you connect with your supporters.
Always use your project’s individual donation portal for fundraising
Make sure to always send your project’s donation portal link when fundraising. Several donations intended for projects come through the general AVI USA donation portal. It is a lot of work and stressful for the donor to have the donation redirected. Do not direct contacts to donate through the AVI USA general site, or send them our aviusa.org/donate page. Always send your small or large donation portal link.